Biedsill holly



(No Model.)

B. HOLLY.

STEAM PRESSURE REGULATOR.

[124/071 for.

l l I No. 246,952. Patented Sept. 13,1881.

UNTTED STATES PATENT OEEIZJE.

BIRDSILL HOLLY, OF LOGKPOET, NEWV YORK.

STEAM-PRESSU RE REGULATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 246,952, dated September 13, 1881.

. Application filed November 529, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, BIRDSILL HOLLY, a'citizen of the United States, residing at Lochport, in the county of Niagara and State of New York, have invented a new and useful improvement in automatic steam-pressure regulators of apparatus for warming. districts of dwellings and other buildings with steamor heated fluids and supplying power thereto for driving machinery, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in steam-regulators wherein a sliding cut-off valve is used in connection with an operating-diaphragm or its equivalent, of such construction as to make it very sensitive to slight changes in the pressure of the steam or heated fluid, and to reduce the heat to which the material of the diaphragm is exposed to a very low degree; and the objects of my invention are to regulate with the utmost accuracy the pressure of the delivered steam or heated fluid, and to make the device more reliable and durable than has been done with other known construetions. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is an elevation of my automatic steam and heated-fluid regulator, showing the valve-chest in section in order to expose the ports and valve. Fig. 2 is a section in the line a: a: of Figure 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section in the line 9 y of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a diagram of my improved regulator, in connection with a meter of any suitable construction adapted for use in conjunction with myimprovedplan of heating and supplying power to districts of buildings for which Letters Patent of the United States have heretofore been granted to me. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section in the line a zof Fig. 1.

Similar letters referto similar parts th roughout the several views.

A is avertical frame of convenient shape, to the lower end of which a diaphragm-chamber, B, and to the upperend of which a valve-chest, O, are attached. This frame A is, by means of bolts (1, fastened to a supporting-plank, A, or to a wall or other proper support. A steam or heated-fluid inlet, 0, and outlet 0, a valveseat, 0 and two steam or heated-fluid ports,

0 c, are formed on the upper end of the frame A. The port 03 communicates with the inlet 0 and the port 0 with the outlet 0, from whichthan is desired by most consumers, and its flow from thesteam-chest is therefore regulated by a slide-valve, D, which, by means of an eX- pansible regulating-diaphragm, b, in thediaphragm-chamber B and suitable connect-ions, is caused to partly or wholly close the delivering-port 0 as will be seen. A valve-rod, cl, suitably attached to the valve D,passes through an ordinarystutiing-box, c of the valve-chest, and is suitably connected with a connectingrod, E, by means of a slotted head, 0, on the upper end of said connecting-rod, which partly ineloses the valve-rod between two shoulders, d (1 of the valve-rod, whereby any casual slight horizontal movements of the connecting-rod can take place without straining or bending the valve-rod.

The middle portion of the connecting-rod E is provided with a horizontal knife-edge, 0, upon which a link,f, of a weighted lever, F, is suspended, as shown. The short end ofthe lever F bears on a horizontal knife-edge, a, on the frame A, and the long end, which in Fig. 1 of the drawings is partly broken away, is weighted with ordinary beam-scale weights, or otherwise; The lower end of the connectingrod E is flared into the shape of a horizontal foot-plate, c and with a central vertical steadypin, e The foot-plate e rests upon the back of a bearing-plate, Ur, of the diaphragm b, and the pin 0 is loosely inserted into a socket-hole, g, therein, by which construction the central positions of the plate G and rod E, and horizontal position of the plate G are maintained. The bearing-plate Gr moves vertically within an annular cover, I), of the diaphragm-chamber, which cover has a circular opening, 11 of cates with the outlet 0.

less diameter than the diameter of the bearingplate Gr, whereby the rise of the bearing-plate beyond proper limits is prevented.

A number of vertical ribs, g, are provided on the back of the bearing-plate, which ribs are of a height equal to the full stroke of the bearing-plate, and thus prevent any serious horizontal displacement of the bearing-plate which, without said ribs, might occur from loosely fitting the bearing -plate within the cover b. The diaphragm-disk I) is of indiarubber or other suitable material, and is fastened in the ordinary way by means of setscrews b between horizontal flanges b of the cover I) and flanges b of the main bowl I) of the diaphragm-chamber B. The bearingplate Gr sits loosely upon the diaphragm 1), thereby avoiding the piercing of the diaphragm with rivets or bolts, and consequent early corrosion of the same and injury of the diaphragm.

The bowl I), by means of pipe H, communi- It descends from the bowl a proper distance and then ascends, as shown, its ascending portion being provided with a water-reservoir, as at h, in which the condensed water is collected and kept in sufiicient quantity to maintain the water-surface ,under all circumstances above the lower bend of the pipe H, in order to prevent steam from entering the bowl I).

Supposing steam to be the agent employed for imparting heat and supplying power, it will be seen that the steam leaving the valve-chest 0 immediately expands, and thereby has its pressure reduced more or less, according to the elevation of the valve D. When the steam is rapidly consumed it will correspondingly expand in rear of the valve D and its pressure will be correspondingly reduced, while at the same time the diaphragm will be correspondingly depressed by the weighted lever F, thus causing the valve D to descend and enlarge the opening of the port 0. A greater quantity of steam now leaves the valve-chest, where its expansion becomes more limited and the pressure increased, whereupon the diaphragm b and "alve D will now rise and diminish the supply from the valve-chest C until an equilibrium is established and the regulator becomes quiet.

By changing the weight attached to the lever F the regulator will be caused to deliver steam or other agent for imparting heat and supplying power under various pressures. Steam in the valve-chest or other agent employed, which in the valve-chest has a pressure, say, of sixty pounds to the square inch, will be delivered at two pounds pressure by reducing the weight of thelever F to such an extent, and with an average amount of consumption the valve D will keep the port 0 about one-half open with two pounds pressure in the diaphragm B.

It will be seen from the foregoing specification that my regulator-frame does not constitute a hollow chamber immediately in contact with the highly-heated valve-seat and steamchest, as heretofore; and that my water-reservoir is remote from the valve-seat and steamchest, and owing to this the diaphragm of the regulator is kept much cooler than with arrangements heretofore employing a chamber in combination with the low-pressure pipe of the valve-chest.

My water reservoir is independent of the frame of the regulator, and is formed with a long small induction-pipe, by which it is con nected to the low-pressure pipe of the "alvechest, and a similar eduction-pipe by which it is connected to the diaphragm-chamber, and by this means the heat of the valve-seat and valve-chest is isolated from the water-chamber and from the diaphragm to a "cry great extent.

It will also be seen that the valve-rod and its loose connecting-rod, as also the knife-edge bearing of the weighted lever, are applied. between the valve-chest and the diaphragm, and that these parts do not in part pass through the water-reservoir and in part occupy a position beneath the diaphragm-chamber thereof, my arrangement and construction in this regard rendering the adjustment, repair, and general manipulation of the parts very convenient; and, further, it will be seen that my bearing-plate is kept in its position upon the diaphragm by an overhanging portion of the diaphragm-chamber, while it is guided and. steadied by ribs extending up above the bearing-plate through an annular opening in the top of the diaphragm-chamber.

1 will further state that I am aware that a regulator isolated from the valve-chamber by a small pipe is not new at this date, such bein g shown in Letters Patent No. 193,086, dated July 17,1877, granted to me; also being shown in Letters Patent No. 217,120, dated July 1, 1879, granted to J. L. Lay.

My present invention diifers from my aforesaid patent, and also from that of Lay, in having a reservoir, h, in which the condensed water is collected in suflicient quantity to maintain the water-surface under all ordinary circumstances above the lower end of the pipe H, and thus-prevent the liability of the steam (as in the case of a pipe without a chamberintermediate the extremities of the small pipe H) rising above the water in the pipe and entering the bowl I) and burning the india-rubber diaphragm.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a steam-pressure regulator, the combination of the lowpressure diaphragm B, high-pressure cut-0E valve D, and intermediate water-chamber, h, provided with pipes H, of smaller diameter than itself, and connected with the low-pressure pipe of the steam-chest and with the diaphragm-chamber, said chamber being situated away from the heated steamchest and containing a body of condensed water sufficient to prevent the steam passing to the diaphragm and unduly heating it, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the diaphragm-disk b, bowl b annular cover I), loose bearing-plate Gr, extending under the cover I), and having guide-ribs g, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination of the bearing-plate Gr, having central socket-hole, g, the weighted connecting-rod E, having a flaring foot-plate, 0*, central pin, 6 slotted head 0, and the valverod 01, having shoulders 61' d substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a steam-pressure regulator, the combination of the connecting -rod E, loosely at- 15 the diaphragm of the regulator, substantially 20 as and for the purpose described.

Signed in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

, BIRDSILL HOLLY. Witnesses:

D. F. BIsHoP, B. D. HALL. 

